The Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan on Thursday issued a warning about unknown pneumonia that was sweeping through the country after more than 600 people died due to the disease by June this year.
As per reports, the embassy also warned that the death rate of the unknown disease is much higher than that of COVID-19.
“Unknown pneumonia in Kazakhstan caused 1,772 deaths in the first six months of the year, including 628 people in June alone, including Chinese citizens,” the embassy said in a statement on its WeChat platform on Thursday.
The embassy also claimed that there has been a significant spike in the cases of unknown pneumonia in the cities of Atyrau, Aktobe and Shymkent since the middle of June.
“The country’s health departments are conducting comparative research into the pneumonia virus, but have yet to identify the virus,” the embassy said.
“The Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan reminds Chinese nationals here to be aware of the situation and step up prevention to lower the infection risks,” it added.
According to Chinese state media, Kazakhstan’s healthcare minister said on Wednesday that the number of patients sickened by the pneumonia is two to three times more than those who have been infected with COVID-19.
Kazakhstan has recorded a total of 54,747 COVID-19 cases so far, according to John Hopkins University tally.
A total of 264 people have lost their lives so far due to coronavirus in Kazakhstan.